Storage box for fishing lures

ABSTRACT

A tackle box for housing fishing lures including a box lower portion, a hinged upper portion, and a plurality of vertical panels spaced apart and parallel from each other positioned in the bottom box portion, the upper edge of each of the panels having a plurality of vertical spaced apart slots of sufficient width to receive the wire or hook portion of a fishing lure.

Unitefi States Patent [191 Smallwood Mar. 19, 1974 STORAGE BOX FORFISHING LURES 3,377,736 4/1968 Woolworth 43/57.5 R I 3,512,295 5/1970[76] Invent: smallwmd 2935 Peom 3,350,810 11/1967 Warner et al. 43/575 RTulsa, Okla- 74114 2,711,050 6/1955 McIntyre 43/575 R [22] Filed: Nov.10, 1972 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene [21] Appl' 305278 Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Head & Johnson [52] US. Cl 43/575 R 57 S C [51] Int. Cl..A01k 97/06 58] Field of Search 119/545 R, 57.5 R, 57.5 A A tackle forf fishmg a 1 lower portion, a hinged upper portion, and a plurality ofvertical panels spaced apart and parallel from each [56] References cuedother positioned in the bottom box portion, the upper UNITED STATESPATENTS edge of each of the panels having a plurality of verti- 952.3143/1 1 Ells rth R cal spaced apart slots of sufficient width to receivethe E wire or hook portion of a fishing lure. o mes 3.182.872 5/1965'Brosseau 43/575 R X 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures i 22 :1 l f 26 I 26 I1; 28 24g I E H 1 i 330% We,

| 5 l..,f/\"\ il l l l I l 7 30 11 \11 I. /6 l4 l i!! I l i lfi I Q l1 l1',|| ,7" 24A 2 B Skid 1 1' 11;, still/ l l'lIW/THI l t Wil /mm 11 ,11,,I mu Hilly, g \liiHJL/ /0 I I N I g l ll 1 5 I1- PATENT'EDMA'R 19 m4SHEEI 1 BF 2 PAIENTEDIARHJIBH 3'797'161 SHEH 2 HF 7 1 STORAGE BOX FORFISHING LURES BACKGROUND, SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION I Apopular type of fishing lure in use today is that referred to as aspinning lure. The typical spinning lure is formed of a wire bent in theform of a V. The fishing line is hooked to the portion forming the apexof the V. A common arrangement is that in which the wire is bent to forma loop at the apex of the V, with the fishing line being attached to theloop. One leg of the V- Y shaped wire has a lure body portion affixed toit. The

body portion may be of virtually limited different configurations.Typically, the body portion includes a weight which may be formed oflead, and is usually shaped in a contoured form so as to appear like asmall fish, a bug, or the like. The body includes a hook extendingtherefrom, and in addition, typically includes a skirt portion formed ofhair, feathers, strips of rubber or plastic, or the like. The oppositeleg of the V wire forming the lure normally has attached to it aspinner. The hook extending from the body normally extends in thedirection of the wire having the spinner attached to it so that the lureis essentially Weedless, that is, less apt to become entangled inweedsor brush. This type of fishing lure is very effective, however, itdoes not fit well in the normal tackle box. Because of the wire shape itis essentially flat but consumes substantial area if layed in a normalflat bottom drawer. The biggest problem is that spinning lures placedtogether in a flat bottom drawer become tangled with each other. Paintor other finish is easily scratched from the body surfaces and theskirting material becomes tangled and crimped so that the lure, whenused in the water, does not give the best appearance and performance forwhich it was designed.

Spinning lures can be satisfactorily carried in a tackle box, havingdrawers or cubicles of sufficient size so that a single lure can layhorizontally, however, to carry any number of lures in this mannerrequires an exceedingly large box which is not only clumsy to thefisherman, but also expensive.

' In addition to spinning lures, this invention is directed towards abox for carrying other types of lures.

An object of this invention is'to provide a fishing tackle box designedfor carrying and storing lures and is particularly useful'for storinglures of the spinning type.

Another object of this invention is toprovide a tackle box for spinninglures arranged such that a large number of spinning lures may be storedin a tackle box of convenient size in an arrangement wherein the luresdo not become entangled'with each other and wherein skirt portions ofthe lures arenot crimped or damaged and the body portions are not likelyto be marred or scratched. I

Another object of this invention is toprovide a tackle box for fishinglures including an arrangement wherein the lures do not become entangledwith each other, even if the box is overtumed- These general objects, aswell as more specific objects of the invention, will be fulfilled in thefollowing description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attacheddrawings.

- DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS FIG. 1 is an isometric external view of atackle box which may typically be employed in practicing the invention,it being understood that the actual external configuration or appearanceof the box is not a part of the Y invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a typical tackle box employing theinvention as taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention in whichthe panels may be integrally formed as a removable unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings and first to FIG. 1, anexample of the way the invention may be practiced is illustratedalthough, as previously noted, the actual internal appearance, size andshape of the box may vary without departing from the invention.Generally the box includes a lower portion 10 and an upper portion 12.The upper portion is hinged or pivoted to the lower portion 10, as shownin FIG. 2, the numeral 14 denoting a hinge. A latch 16 keeps the box inclosed position and a handle 18 permits the box to be easily carried.The box described to this point is not unlike that of any other typicaltackle box.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower portion 10 of the box has a bottominterior surface 20 and the upper portion 18 has an upper interiorsurface 22. Extending from the lower interior surface 20 is a plurality(in the illustrated case 3) of vertical panels 24A through 24C. Thepanels or partitions are spaced apart and parallel to each other andeach terminates at an upper edge 26 which is adjacent and preferablysubstantially contiguous to the upper interior surface 22 of box upperportion 12. Each of the panels is provided at the upper edge 26 thereofwith a plurality of spaced apart slots 28. The slots are of narrow depthin proportion to the total vertical height of the panels.

Each slot 28 is capable of receiving the wire or shank portion 30 of aspinning lure. With the wire portion in a slot 28 of a panel the bodyportion 30A of a lure which includes a hook 31 hangs on one side of thepanel to which it is supported and the spinning portion 30B hangs on theother side. The slots 28 are preferably out of alignment with each otherin adjacent parallel panels so that the portion of spinning luressupported by adjacent panels will not interfere with each other.

The two lures shown in dotted outline in FIG. 2 are by way of exampleand form no part of the invention.

As previously indicated, the upper edge 26 of each of the panels 24Athrough 24C terminates adjacent or contiguous to the upper interiorsurface 22 of box upper portion 12. This arrangement prohibits lure frombeing dislodged from a slot 28 as long as the lid 12 of the box isclosed, even though the box be overturned. To further ensure completeabsence of an opportunity for a lure from coming out of a slot 28 inwhich it is positioned, an alternate arrangement includes the use of aresilient pad 32 affixed to the upper box portion interior surface 22.The pad 32 engages the upper edges 26 of the panels 24 when the box isclosed to ensure that a lure cannot be dislodged from the slot in whichit is positioned.

In the arrangement of FIG. 2 the panels 24A, 24B and 24C are allintegrally affixed at their lower ends to the box bottom interiorsurface 20. An alternate arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 3. In thisarrangement the panels 24A, 24B and 24C are formed as a removable,integral unit which can be removed from the box lower portion whendesired. This arrangement has an advantage in that it facilitatescleaning the box and permits the box to be used for other purposes ifdesired.

In the arrangement of FIG. 3 the panels 24A, 24B and 24C may beintegrally supported to each other by end panels 34A and 348, which mayextend to the top edge 26 of the panels or only partially the height ofthe panels as shown. Another means of integrally supporting the panelsincludes the use of a base 36 to which the panels 24A, 24B and 24C areintegrally affixed.

In the drawings the invention is illustrated as encompassing the entireinterior of a tackle box although it can be seen that the concept ofthis invention may be employed in only a portion of a tackle box inwhich the balance is designed to include trays, drawers or other wellknown tackle box designs for other types of fishing plugs or fishingequipment.

While the tackle box of this invention is particularly adaptable tostorage of spinning type lures, it can be used to store other types. Asan example, a lure formed of a body with treble hooks can be stored byplacing a hook in a slot 28 and allowing the body to hang down betweenthe panels.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arrangement of components withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. While threepanels 24A, 24B and 24C are shown it is apparent that one, two, three,four or more panels may be employed. It is understood that thisinvention is not limited to the specific embodiments set forth hereinfor purposes of exemplification, but is limited only by the scope of theattached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency towhich each element or step thereof is entitled.

What is claimed:

l. A tackle box for housing fishing lures having shanks and hooks andcomprising an outer housing having upper and lower box-like portionshaving the adjacent faces thereof open and hingedly secured togetheralong one edge to provide alternate open and closed positions for thetackle box, a plurality of spaced mutually parallel upstandingpartitions removably secured in said lower box-like portion and havingthe outer edge thereof extending beyond the open face of the lowerbox-like portion and into the upper box-like portion with substantiallyhalf of each partition exposed in the open position of the tackle box,each of said partitions being provided with a plurality of slots spacedalong the outer edge thereof and open for receiving the shank of afishing lure therein whereby the hook of the lure is disposed downwardlyaway from the outer edges of the partitions, said slots of one partitionbeing positioned out of register with the slots of the adjacentpartitions for reducing interference between the lures secured thereto,resilient cushioning means provided on the inner periphery of the top ofthe upper box-like portion for engaging the outer end of the partitionsin the closed position of the tackle box to securely retain the fishinglures in position in the slots, latch means cooperating between theupper and lower boxlike portions for releasably securing the housing inthe closed position thereof, and handle means secured to the outerhousing for facilitating portability of the tackle box.

2. A tackle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein said partitions areintegrally constructed to provide a composite unit removably disposedwithin said lower boxlike portion.

1. A tackle box for housing fishing lures having shanks and hooks and comprising an outer housing having upper and lower boxlike portions having the adjacent faces thereof open and hingedly secured together along one edge to provide alternate open and closed positions for the tackle box, a plurality of spaced mutually parallel upstanding partitions removably secured in said lower box-like portion and having the outer edge thereof extending beyond the open face of the lower box-like portion and into the upper box-like portion with substantially half of each partition exposed in the open position of the tackle box, each of said partitions being provided with a plurality of slots spaced along the outer edge thereof and open for receiving the shank of a fishing lure therein whereby the hook of the lure is disposed downwardly away from the outer edges of the partitions, said slots of one partition being positioned out of register with the slots of the adjacent partitions for reducing interference between the lures secured thereto, resilient cushioning means provided on the inner periphery of the top of the upper box-like portion for engaging the outer end of the partitions in the closed position of the tackle box to securely retain the fishing lures in position in the slots, latch means cooperating between the upper and lower box-like portions for releasably securing the housing in the closed position thereof, and handle means secured to the outer housing for facilitating portability of the tackle box.
 2. A tackle box as set forth in claim 1 wherein said partitions are integrally constructed to provide a composite unit removably disposed within said lower box-like portion. 